Electric eel

The electric eel is a long, round fish that lives in the warm rivers and swamps of South America. It looks a lot like a snake or an eel, but it is really a kind of fish called a knifefish. A big one can grow as long as a grown-up is tall.

Its most amazing trick is hidden inside its body. Most of the electric eel is packed with special parts that work like tiny batteries. When they all switch on together, the eel makes a strong pulse of electricity — enough to give a hungry fish a big surprise and stun it.

The eel uses its electricity in two ways. A gentle buzz helps it feel its way around and find food in muddy water, because its eyes are not very good. A much stronger jolt is saved for catching a meal or scaring off an animal that comes too close.

Even though it lives underwater, the electric eel must come up to the surface to gulp air, just like we breathe. It hunts mostly at night, sniffing and buzzing through the dark water in search of smaller fish to eat.

There are plenty of electric eels in the wild today, so they are not in danger. They are strange, clever fish — a real living surprise hiding in the rivers of the rainforest.